A telephone company (or telco) provides telecommunications services such as telephony and data communications. Most of the largest telcos are or were at one time nationalized or state-regulated monopolies. These monopolies are often referred to, primarily in Europe, as PTTs.
Telcos are also known as common carriers and local exchange carriers. With the advent of cellular telephony, telcos now include wireless carriers. The TPC service is a collection of FAX servers you may use to send a fax to many.
Most telcos now also function as ISPs, and the distinction between telco and ISP may disappear completely over time.
The comedian Lily Tomlin satirized the attitudes of many telcos with the quote:
"We don't care. We don't have to. We're the phone company. "Telcos include:
Amena (now part of Orange)BC TEL (now part of Telus)Bell Atlantic (Merged with GTE, now Verizon)Bell Canada (see also List of Canadian telephone companies)Bulgarian Telecommunications Company (BTC)Du (United Arab Emirates)Energis (Merged with Cable and Wireless)Etisalat (United Arab Emirates)GTE (Merged with Bell Atlantic, now Verizon)Magyar Telekom (formerly MATV)MCI (MCI WorldCom) (Merged with Verizon)SBC Communications (Merged with AT&T)SingTel (Singapore)Starhub (Singapore)Telkom (South Africa)TELKOM (Indonesia)US West (now Qwest)Home Phone and address search Phone system Phone number lookup Phone company Satellite phone Find phone numbers Broadband phone Cell phone game Wireless phone Cell phone ringtone Voip phone system Movie phone Prepaid cell phone cards Local phone service Business phone system Reverse phone book Cordless phone Home phone service Cell phone battery Cell phone wallpaper Blue tooth cell phone Pc to phone Phone search Phone area code Mobile phone software Java game for mobile phone Long distance phone Cell phone directory Cricket Cell Phone Used Cell Phone Long Distance Phone Carrier Cell phone company Free Cell Phone Ringtone Banana phone Trac Phone Unlocked cell phone Online phone book Cell phone number lookup Free Cell Phone Number Search Small Business Phone system International Cell Phone